Rodeo life is more than an 8 second ride

Rodeo life is more than an 8 second ride
Released by the Calgary Stampede July 14, 2010
The Calgary Stampede Rodeo 2010 Pool B

The rodeo arena usually has a clown or two in the infield but they aren’t the only ones in the arena doing the juggling. Life as a professional rodeo contestant rarely is a solo job or ambition. Many cowboys and cowgirls try to balance time on the road with another career, a family, harvest schedules, calving schedules and time off due to injury repair. It’s not an easy life for everyone involved but would they change it? If they willingly strap themselves to a bucking animal – the answer is obvious – participating at the Calgary Stampede Rodeo is the cowboy dream.

Kyle Thomson, of Black Diamond, Alberta, has a championship buckle for every month of the year. Thomson has won championships from Novice Saddle Bronc at the Calgary Stampede in 1998 to the Canadian All-Around AND High Point Champion of 2009. Not bad for a guy splitting his time between ranching, carpentry and a career fit for a cowboy – stuntman! Thomson has five major pictures listed to his credit including: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Assassination of Jesse James. Do you suppose he taught Brad Pitt how to stay on for more than eight seconds? Thomson competes in both saddle bronc and steer wrestling but at this go-round he is in the hunt for the saddle bronc buckle.

Cody Wright of Milford, Utah, is one busy Saddle Bronc rider! He has been a pro rodeo rider since 1998, won the Calgary Stampede Saddle Bronc Championship twice, is a seven time qualifier in the National Final Rodeo and accumulated over $1.2 million in career earnings. How he found time to do that while raising five kids probably is a trick handed down from his parents. Wright has 12 siblings and most of the seven boys are bronc riders too.

Bareback Rider, Matt Lait, moved from Seven Persons, in southern Alberta, to centrally located Balzac, last year and says the time not wasted on the road and in hotels is a significant improvement on his take home pay. This five-time qualifier at the Canadian Finals Rodeo however, might be in for a tough ride at the Stampede. In May, a bucking horse fell over and rolled on the cowboy, breaking his wrist and he has been nursing it since. “The Calgary Stampede Rodeo is one I don’t want to miss. One ride worth $100,000 is worth waiting for,” says Lait. During the offseason, Lait is owner/operator of Rodeo Drive Limousine. Now that would be a comfy ride to a rodeo!

Ouch! Speaking of breaking things, watch for the local superstar Bareback Rider, Davey Shields Jr., of DeWinton, Alberta. Exactly a year ago, the three-time Canadian Champion and three-time Calgary Stampede Champion broke his leg when a bucking horse fell on him. Shields is Canada’s only bareback rider to break the million dollar mark in earnings and is known for his perfect precision when working the bronc. That’s why he has qualified for the CFR 13 times...so far. He is far from finishing his career.

If you want to meet an ambitious cowboy, find Bareback Rider, Justin McDaniel of Porum, Oklahoma, heading for the chutes. McDaniel joined the pro rodeo circuit in 2005 and promptly won the Rookie of the Year Award. 2008 saw McDaniel win the Bareback World Championship, as well as the National Rodeo Finals Aggregate (most points). Last year, he won 10 rodeos and has already amassed career earnings over $600,000. McDaniel says his goal is to win the All-Around gold buckle like his rodeo hero, Ty Murray. It might be tricky keeping up his sprinters pace; the cowboy had back surgery in February to repair two herniated discs. Winning the championship this week will sure help land that golden buckle.

Practise makes perfect and Bull Rider, Douglas Duncan, of Alvin, Texas, knows it. He keeps five bulls on his ranch to work on his techniques. This Rookie of the Year Champion of 2008, and two-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier is determined to be the best in the sport. “I have a motto that goes through my head all the time – winners never quit and quitters never win,” says Duncan.

July 14 will be J.W. Harris’ birthday and what better present would there be than taking home a Calgary Stampede Championship. The bull rider only started his professional career in 2005 and has already accumulated close to $800,000 in career earnings. When Don Gay, the eight-time world champion bull rider saw Harris for the first time a few years back he said, “If he keeps riding like he did tonight, he’s going to have a good future.” Gay is right: so far Harris qualified for the NFR four times, and won the World Championship in 2008 and 2009. Interestingly, he won the 2009 title at the NFR in Las Vegas last November without earning any money at the event due to broking a hand in the second round. The world champion is decided by money earned and since Harris won 21 events in 2009 prior to the NFR he was well in the lead. As Harris says “I gave myself a cushion in case something did happen.” Harris’ ambition is to beat Don Gay’s record. When he is not on the road, Harris raises – you guessed it – bucking bulls.

Talk about finding balance, ask Ladies Barrel Racer, Deb Renger, of Okotoks, Alberta, how barrel racers balance the accounting books. “Travel costs eat up a lot of your earnings in barrel racing. A good barrel horse is $60 - $70,000 and most of us don’t have just one,” says Renger. But the expense doesn’t seem to be slowing her down; Renger has qualified for the CFR 18-times and the NFR five times. She won the 2004 Calgary Stampede Barrel Racing Championship and is just as determined to do it again this week.

Who says you get too old to have a new career? Watch for Ladies Barrel Racer, Mary Burger, of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma - she will try to steal our hearts. This lady is in her early 60’s and only started her pro career in 1985. Since then she has accumulated over half a million dollars in earnings. Burger won the Ladies Barrel Racing World Championship in 2006.

There might be family rivalry in the Ladies Barrel Racing. PJ Burger, also of Pauls Valley Oklahoma, is entered in the Calgary Stampede. She will be competing against her mother-in-law Mary Burger.

Expect the crowds to be on their feet when two-time and current World Champion AND three-time Canadian Champion Steer Wrestler, Lee Graves, bursts into the infield. Graves is a Calgary boy and the city is proud of him. Over the course of his career, the steer-wrestler has been to the CFR 11 times and 10 times to the NFR earning close to $1.5 million. But this year has been a little slow due to tearing a bicep tendon in his left arm in March. He says some serious physio and training in the gym has him ready as he told the Calgary Herald, “I will not embarrass myself – or embarrass Calgary.” Graves was Calgary’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2005, the same year he was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

The competition in Tie-down Roping is going to be fast and furious. It is full of champions including Cody Ohl, of Hico, Texas, and Fred Whitfield, of Hockley, Texas. Between the two cowboys there is a total earnings of $5.4 million! Ohl, is the proud wearer of six world champion buckles and has been to the NFR 15 times, earning $2.6 million over his career. Interestingly, he raises bucking bulls on his ranch. Fred Whitfield, has been to the NFR a staggering 18 times and has eight World Champion buckles to choose from. Whitfield’s fireplace is already crowded with three bronze statue trophies from the Calgary Stampede but there is always room for more. Whitfield plans to toss his rope at 16 rodeos in July, from Oregon to Calgary and back to Wyoming.

So, what about those Rodeo Clowns? They may have clown in the title but they, along with the Bull Fighters, are the BFF’s of the infield. (BFF...best friend forever). Watch for the antics of eight-time World Champion Rodeo Clown, Flint Rasmussen, of Choteau, Montana. This crazy entertainer used to be a high school math teacher but falls back on his drama classes to get the crowd laughing. Who would even dare to think the man suffered a heart attack last year at the tender age of 41? Now, he’s not back in the saddle - but back in the barrel ready to keep the bull riders safe. With his pancake makeup cleaned off and back on the Montana range, Rasmussen and his wife Katie raise top-quality barrel-racing quarter horses.

www.calgarystampede.com

Big Bucks Come To Brandon For Barrel Racing

23 April 2010

Brandon, Manitoba

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Northern Lights Barrel Futurity & Derby committee are excited to announce there are new events being held in conjunction with the 2010 Futurity & Derby on Labor Day Weekend, September 3-6, in Brandon at the Westoba Agricultural Center of Excellence. Starting off the weekend on Friday will be the Rocking W Horse Sale Preview, followed by the 6th Annual Race For The Cure benefit barrel race. In addition to our barrel racing futurity and derby races on Saturday and Sunday, we are pleased to additionally be hosting the first ever North American Barrel Racing Challenge Finals which will bring 50 top barrel racers from Canada and the USA to make runs at Brandon! Team Captains are two famed barrel racers; Rayel Robinson for Canada, and Brittany Pozzi for Team USA. The first run on Saturday will determine the top 10 that will run on Sunday. The winning team members will receive $10,000 each! There are also youth teams involving riders under the age of 18.

For More Information:

Northern Lights Barrel Futurity & Derby : www.NLfuturity.com
North American Barrel Racing Challenge: www.NorthAmericanBarrelRacingChallenge.com

Edited JULY 14 - This event has since be revamped and moved to KANSAS CITY USA

Barrel Racing For Fun and Fast Times Review

Sharon Camarillo has a new book that I'm excited to tell you about. I have written a book review on it and have more detail on one of my other websites that I would also like to introduce you to: www.FreeBarrelRacingTips.com We already have great traffic to the site and over 2500 fans on the FaceBook fan page "Barrel Racing Tips"

You can go here to read more about Sharon's book. Check out the rest of the site while you are there too!

Sharon's book is a great read providing helpful tips for barrel racers at all levels. Her tips are based on good horsemanship, a platform the website Free Barrel Racing Tips.com is also based on.

Here's to smooth runs and fast times,

Michelle

Peek winner at Wrangler Timed Event Championships

(Guthrie, Okla., March 7) -- Adversity doesn’t stop Josh Peek of Pueblo, Colo. It never has.

Josh Peek Head Shot A year ago, Peek was leading the Wrangler Timed Event Championship at the Lazy E Arena with one run left. He took a 60-second time in the steer roping, the equivalent of a no-time in the competition, and dropped to a fourth place. On Sunday, he was again leading the average with one run remaining. This time, the 30-year-old tied his steer down in 18.4 seconds to clinch the title of 2010 Wrangler Timed Event Champion with a time of 315.2 seconds on 25 runs. He is the 11th man to win the title in the 26 years of the Championship.

In addition to winning $50,000 for the average, Peek, the two-time PRCA reserve all-around world champion, placed twice in the fast rounds and exited the Lazy E Arena with $58,000.

The money won at the non-PRCA sanctioned event does not count toward the PRCA World Standings. However, the paycheck will come in handy for Peek who has twins with his wife, Kori.

"I was more prepared this year," he said. "Before I got here, I believed I was going to win."

Peek’s drive and determination to overcome hard times goes back to his childhood. When Peek was 9 years old an old nail pierced the skin of his right foot. In a lot of cases, the story might have ended with tetanus shot. But Peek had stepped on this nail while in a pig pen. The child would undergo four surgeries, almost lose his foot and spend about a month in the hospital. In that span he would be given some antibiotics and that''s what he''s told induced epilepsy.

"Without adversity, you''ll never achieve success," he said Sunday. "There will always be road bumps and you''ll need the Lord and your family, but you also have to believe in yourself."
The Wrangler Timed Event Championship annually features 20 of the world''s top cowboys to battle the clock and tests their talents in a marathon of team roping - heading and heeling, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and steer roping over five rounds for a share of a $150,000 total purse.

Peek took the lead in the third round on the 14th run of the weekend. However, on the 19th run a fast running draw led to a 27.5 in the steer wrestling. He ended the fourth go in second place.

In the fifth round, Peek dropped to third. The team roping - heeling shuffled the deck as K.C. Jones of Burlington, Wyo., a four-time Wrangler Timed Event Champion, dropped to third. Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas, a six-time winner of the event, moved to the lead in the average and Peek went to second after 23 head.

In the steer wrestling, Brazile had a tough steer, getting a 60-second time. So, Peek tossed his draw in 4.1 seconds for 296.8 on 24 and the lead, with one run remaining. Jones was second. In the steer roping, Jones was 18-seconds for 343.0 on 25. Peek needed to be 46.1 for the win and was 18.4.

Jones finished second in the average for $25,000, while JoJo LeMond was third at 358.3 seconds for $15,000. Brazile claimed fourth with 364.9 for $10,000 and fifth was Chance Kelton of Mayer, Ariz., 367.6 for $7,500. Kelton also had the fastest round with 48 seconds in the second go for and additional $10,000.

Not long into Sunday''s action, fans witnessed something never before done at the event, as JoJo LeMond of Andrews, Texas, along with the assistance from 2008 World Champion Team Roping Heeler Randon Adams, shattered the team roping - heading record with a 4.5-second run. The previous record was 5.1 seconds by B.J. Campbell in 2002. LeMond also holds the competition’s team roping-heeling record with a 4.9-second effort with Matt Sherwood in 2009.

The Ironman of professional rodeo returned to the Lazy E Arena this past weekend in Guthrie, Okla., and for more than two and a half decades, this one-of-a-kind event has showcased world champions and a cast of ProRodeo’s elite cowboys.

The Wrangler Timed Event Championship will air as a special event on RFD-TV’s “Beyond Rodeo Show with Susie Dobbs” at 12:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. (CT) on April 29.

For more information on the Wrangler Timed Event Championship or other Lazy E events, www.lazye.com.

26th Wrangler Timed Event Championship
Lazy E Arena, Guthrie, Okla.
March 5-7

Fastest rounds:

1. Chance Kelton – Mayer, Ariz., 48.0 seconds, set in 2nd go, $10,000
2. Josh Peek – Pueblo, Colo., 49.6 seconds set in 3rd go, $ 6,000
3. Trevor Brazile – Decatur, Texas, 50.8 seconds set in 3rd go, $5,000
4. Kyle Lockett – Visalia, Calif., 51.3 seconds set in 2nd go, $4,000
5. JoJo LeMond – Andrews, Texas, 52.2 seconds set in 4th go, $3,000
6. Josh Peek – Pueblo, Colo., 52.4 seconds set in 5th go, $2,000

Average (total on 25 head of cattle over five go-rounds of competition)

1. Josh Peek, 315.2 seconds, $50,000
2. K.C. Jones, 343.0 seconds, $25,000
3. JoJo LeMond, 358.3 seconds, $15,000
4. Trevor Brazile, 364.9 seconds, $10,000
5. Chance Kelton, 367.6 seconds, $7,500
6. Beau Franzen, 367.9 seconds. $5,000
7. Kyle Lockett, 388.0 seconds, $4,500
8. Jimmie Cooper, 391.8 seconds, $3,000

Arena record broken for $3,000 Lazy E Arena bonus
(Team toping – heading)
JoJo LeMond, 4.5 seconds in 5th go breaking the 5.1 seconds of B.J. Campbell from 2002

WTEC notes from 2010

Winning $58,000 Josh Peek’s cumulative Timed Event earnings total $79,500 for three years
Winning $25,000 K.C. Jones now totals $388,500 for 19 years
Winning $15,000 Trevor Brazile now totals $579,500 for 15 years
Winning $8,500 Kyle Lockett now totals $156,500 for 10 years

Complete results at www.lazye.com

By Robert Simpson/For the Wrangler Timed Event Championship courtesy of www.prorodeo.com

(Guthrie, Okla., March 7) -- Adversity doesn’t stop Josh Peek of Pueblo, Colo. It never has.

Trevor Brazile and Texaco Rope Calves Bridleless

Trevor made a 7.8 second run on Texaco at the Fort Worth Stock Show AQHA senior (horses age) tie down roping Tuesday 1/26/2010 riding with out a bridle on Texaco! It was AWESOME and the crowd loved it!

Check it out here on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNvOs3cqLj8 or below: